Month: May 2026

Where the Red Fern Grows, written by Wilson Rawls, published in 1961, is a story about a boy, Billy Colman, who–after two years–buys two hound dogs, and the bond he forms with them in Ozark, Oklahoma. The story is told in the first person point of view (in hindsight–when Billy is older) as he takes us through his years living in the wooded area of Ozark, which is teeming with wildlife, including raccoons, bobcats, and mountain lions.

Set in the 1920s, it takes Billy two years to save up $50 to buy two hound dogs that he finds in an ad, purchased with the help of his grandfather, who owns a local store. Billy lives with his parents (Papa and Mama), and his two sisters in a cabin-like home in the woods, and often, he must walk to places, whether across the rivers, mountains, or hills, to get where he needs to go.

After purchasing the two hound dogs as puppies, he raises them to go hunting in the woods with him. We then follow his adventures as he hunts with Old Dan and Little Ann, the names of the sibling hound dogs, where Old Dan will bawl and chase, whereas Little Ann will bide her time to outsmart the prey.

Later in the story, there is a hunting competition, and that’s when Billy, his father, and grandfather, go together on a horse-drawn cart to where the competition is being held, hoping to win the gold cup. There is a tense scene where, as the three, and a judge, are looking for the dogs in the woods, the snow begins to fall heavily, leaving them to decide whether to keep looking or to go back to camp.

The book also explores how Billy’s mother wishes to move out of the wooded area, given the financial straits they are in, to give her children a better education. Set in the 1920s, the story really puts you in that period where nature, and the unpredictability of circumstances, is predominant in impacting the characters’ lives. It’s a story that illustrates the strong bonds that can form between family, as well as pets, and the perseverance to achieve ones goals.

Call of the Wild, written by Jack London, published in 1903, is a harrowing journey of a dog named by Buck (a St. Bernard mix), who, despite all odds, adapts and survives during the gold rush in the arctic. The story begins with Buck’s quiet and domestic life in California with his owner, Judge Miller, when he is taken by a worker of the family’s gardener and sold to a man gathering sled dogs for the arctic gold rush.

From there, Buck senses that things are off, as he is crated and then transported, only to be sold again. Jack London doesn’t hold back when he describes the brutality of what Buck endures and experiences, not to mention what other sled dogs must face. Since the story is told from Buck’s point of view, we see how strange and unforgiving this new, cold environment is, and how the sled dogs must run for hours on end, sometimes 40 miles a day, through the arctic snow.

Amongst the other dogs, including Sol-leks, Curly, Pike, etc., they embody different traits and personalities, but key among them is Spitz, who is the pack leader that Buck competes with to led the sled dogs. At this point, Buck has been bought by Francios and Perrault, and later he is sold to a mail carrier, where the trek is more grueling given the heavy load that the dogs must carry. Like Black Beauty, this novel depicts the drudgery the dogs face as they are worn down through exhaustion, hunger, and injuries.

It isn’t until Buck meets his last owner (his fourth in the arctic), John Thornton, where he is shown kindness and warmth. John Thornton nurses Buck to health given his poor and ill-treated condition, and provides shelter and food for his recovery. There is a great scene toward the end where John Thornton meets a man who makes a bet that Buck can’t pull a sled with a thousand pounds on it. The bet is on, and it is in this scene where despite all odds, Buck proves to everyone just how powerful he is.

Call of the Wild not only explores how animals are used and treated by humans (like Black Beauty), but also how they can bond with humans as well, as in the example with John Thornton. It also explores Buck’s determination to survive and, ultimately, thrive, against all odds, as toward the end of the book, he begins to meet with a wolf pack.

I won’t reveal the end, but will say that the novel is incredibly fast-paced, gripping, and truly puts you in the eyes of Buck as he learns to adapt to these newfound conditions in the arctic, and hears a whisper that could be described as a call of the wild.

The Screwtape Letters, written by C.S. Lewis, published in 1942, is a book told in the form of letters by an evil spirit named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood (a tempter), on how to cause his “Patient” to err by having him make blunders, errors, and mistakes, leading him down the path to where all fallen spirits are. It’s not a conventional book in which there is a clear beginning, middle, end, and for readers expecting that structure, it will take some getting used to, since it is written like a series of short essays where each chapter focuses on a particular theme such as truth, virtue, and the prayer life of the “Patient.”

One must also get used to how everything is framed, since heaven is where Screwtape doesn’t want Wormwood’s Patient to end up. One must think in terms of opposites as one reads this, because Screwtape views everything from the side of evil. Toward the end of the book, though we don’t read any of Wormwood’s letters, we get a sense of what he wrote based on Screwtape’s responses regarding the war in Europe (World War II, undoubtedly), and how fear, courage, etc., are like spiritual battlegrounds for the “Patient.”

Once I got used to the format of this book, I began to appreciate each chapter for the theme it tackled, and later in the book, the “Patient” seemed to be evading Wormwood’s deceptions and tactics, which Screwtape started getting annoyed with. It is clear that the “Patient” isn’t aware of Wormwood at all, since he is an evil spirit, and the way the story is framed is as if Screwtape and Wormwood worked in some unseen office building where they would come and go and then report back to after meddling with the world.

The Screwtape Letters isn’t a fantasy or narrative book in the traditional sense, but for readers interested in C.S. Lewis’s work, it covers moral themes that are addressed in a kind of satirical way about how an evil spirit might think if it were to convince its “Patient” toward a fallen path.

Black Beauty, written by Anna Sewell, published in 1877, is a moving tale about a horse named Black Beauty, who endures hardships, as well as kindness, through a variety of owners, which reveals not only the way animals view us, but how humans treat each other. It is a tale told from the point of view of a horse as it grows up with its mother, and then is moved to Birkwick Park, where it is trained by a man named John Manly.

There, Black Beauty meets other horses, include Ginger, and Merrylegs, and we see how the horses are ridden and cared for. But what’s unique about this story is how the author puts us in the mind of Black Beauty, where we experience life through his eyes, contrasted from rest and happiness, to exhaustion, illness, thirst, and hunger. It is here that we see the effects of horse equipment such as blinkers and bearing reins–the latter of which causes the horse’s head to be elevated as it moves awkwardly–all for aesthetic reasons. There are also scenes in the book where horses are overburdened with carts as they are severely whipped for either getting stuck or not moving fast enough. And then there are moments where Black Beauty is cared for improperly, such as when he is underfed, or his stall is poorly cleaned, or when his hooves are worn with cracks–especially in one scene where a drunkard rides him with a broken hoof, and he ends up crashing on the road.

I can give an inexhaustible account of every sort of ill treatment that Black Beauty endures or witnesses–especially when he is sent to live in London. But there are also scenes of compassion, especially under the care of John Manly, who not only looks after Black Beauty, but other horses who he sees are being mistreated on the road. In the last act of the story, Black Beauty is cared for by Jerry Barker and his family, riding through the streets of London, drawing a cab. Is it is here that the importance of rest is emphasized, not only for the rider, but for the horse, as it is said that horses who work seven days a week without rest burn out more easily.

Throughout the narrative, Black Beauty witnesses the mistreatment of humans upon humans, as if they are treated as objects, or with disregard to their dignity or safety. In one scene, a man gripes to the Governor that because of the overhead he and others must pay for renting horses, they must ride all throughout the day before they even make a profit–often without a break. And in another scene, Jerry is summoned to pick up riders from a party during New Year’s, only to wait long through the cold night.

Suffice it to say, each chapter tells its own story of what Black Beauty experiences. It is not told in the conventional way where the protagonist is trying to reach some goal by the end, but rather, it is told like a documentary where we witness everything first hand, and though Black Beauty can understand and relate all the dialogue that is exchanged amongst the human characters, it never leaves his point of view, which allows us a window into both worlds. At times, it can be heartrending to read, but overall, it is a tale that shows how kindness and compassion can make all the difference not just upon horses or animals, but upon ourselves.